AMD shows off Llano

AMD has shown off the upcoming Llano APU to the press at the AMD Technical Forum and Exhibition in Taipei.

Company reps announced that the Llano will arrive in mid-2011, which is a bit later than we expected. AMD Client Division General Manager Chris Cloran proudly showed off a 32nm Llano wafer and AMD also held a brief demo of the new APU.

The Llano proved capable of running several demanding applications, including HyperPi, HD video playback and some sort of celestial body simulation. In terms of performance, Llano won't be the fastest thing around, but four cores based on the improved Stars core couples with powerful graphics should have more than enough power for the average consumer.

In addition, Cloran noted that AMD's first Fusion APU, in the form of Brazos, should ship in the first half of 2011. The Bobcat-based Brazos is aimed at the Atom market, but that's somewhat of an understatement, as it will clearly offer superior performance and it will probably appear in a wider range of products.